Djokovic seeks landmark 100th win at French Open
FILE PHOTO: Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 31, 2025 Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts during his third round match against Austria's Filip Misolic REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
PARIS - Fourth round action continues at the French Open on Monday with top seeds Jannik Sinner and Coco Gauff in action while Novak Djokovic chases a milestone 100th win at Roland Garros.
British hopes rest on Cameron Norrie and fifth seed Jack Draper, who is up against the entertaining Alexander Bublik in the night session.
TOP MEN'S MATCH: NOVAK DJOKOVIC V CAMERON NORRIE
Djokovic came into the French Open having won his 100th career title at the Geneva Open and in the fourth round he can achieve something only 14-times champion Rafa Nadal has accomplished -- 100 wins on the red clay at Roland Garros.
Djokovic's third round victory over Austrian qualifier Filip Misolic was his 99th, equalling his own mark at the Australian Open where he has won the title 10 times. He also has 97 wins at Wimbledon and 90 at the U.S. Open.
"I'm just hoping to carry on. Every time I step onto this court I'm playing for history," Djokovic said.
But if the sixth seed is to surpass Nadal's jaw-dropping record of 112 wins at the French Open, Djokovic will find himself playing into his 40s.
Standing in Djokovic's way is Briton Cameron Norrie, who downed Daniil Medvedev in the first round and has reached the last-16 for the first time in his career.
"That match with Daniil was so tough, it was such a big test for me. To get through that, I thought I can take a lot of confidence from that," Norrie said.
"To make the second week for the first time is so, so good and at a time where I was not really stringing a lot of matches and a lot of wins together."
But he has work to do with Djokovic yet to drop a set while the Briton has lost all five matches he has played against the former world number one, including the semi-final in Geneva last month.
The pair played out a tense encounter in Rome in 2023 where Djokovic criticised Norrie's attitude. Norrie hit an overhead smash at Djokovic's leg when the Serbian had turned his back on the net having given up on a point.
TOP WOMEN'S MATCH: MIRRA ANDREEVA V DARIA KASATKINA
Andreeva has yet to drop a set at Roland Garros this year and the Russian sixth seed showed she means business when she packed off Yulia Putintseva by winning nine of the last 10 games in their third-round encounter.
But Russian-born Kasatkina, who now represents Australia, is high on confidence after knocking out 10th seed Paula Badosa in straight sets.
Andreeva and Kasatkina practice together and the Russian 18-year-old said: "It's going to be an entertaining match, for sure, because I think we both know each other very well. I think it's going to be fun and also maybe pretty tight."
Andreeva is looking to better her semi-final run at Roland Garros last year while Kasatkina beat her in the only match they have played, a roller-coaster three-setter in Ningbo last year.
"Mirra, she's a very nice girl and an amazing player. We've been quite good with each other. I can even say that I think we are kind of friends," Kasatkina said.
"The last one in Ningbo was a big drama match. Let's see what's going to happen here. We never met on clay before."
FRENCH OPEN ORDER OF PLAY ON MONDAY (prefix number denotes seeding)
COURT PHILIPPE-CHATRIER (play begins at 0900 GMT)
20-Ekaterina Alexandrova (Russia) v 2-Coco Gauff (U.S.)
Lois Boisson (France) v 3-Jessica Pegula (U.S.)
Cameron Norrie (Britain) v 6-Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
1-Jannik Sinner (Italy) v 17-Andrey Rublev (Russia)
COURT SUZANNE-LENGLEN (play begins at 0900 GMT)
6-Mirra Andreeva (Russia) v 17-Daria Kasatkina (Australia)
3-Alexander Zverev (Germany) v Tallon Griekspoor (Netherlands)
7-Madison Keys (U.S.) v Hailey Baptiste (U.S.)
Alexander Bublik (Kazakhstan) v 5-Jack Draper (Britain) REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
44 minutes ago
- Straits Times
OL Lyonnes appoint Giraldez to replace Montemurro as manager
FILE PHOTO: Nov 10, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Spirit head coach Jonatan Giraldez Costas looks on after the match against Bay FC in a 2024 NWSL Playoffs quarterfinal match at Audi Field. Mandatory Credit: James A. Pittman-Imagn Images/File Photo REUTERS FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Women's Champions League - Semi Final - First Leg - Arsenal v Olympique Lyonnais - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - April 19, 2025 Olympique Lyonnais players pose for a team group photo before the match. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy/File Photo OL Lyonnes have appointed former Barcelona coach Jonatan Giraldez as manager to replace Joe Montemurro, the French women's league champions said. Giraldez coached Barcelona from 2021 to 2024, winning two Women's Champions Leagues, three league titles, two Copa de la Reina trophies and three Spanish Super Cups. The Spaniard, who has signed a three-year contract, joins the French club from NWSL side Washington Spirit. Both teams are part of the multi-club structure operated by the Michele Kang-owned Kynisca Sports International. "The club's history, ambition, and talented squad represent a fantastic opportunity, and I look forward to building on the club's successes as it enters a new chapter," Giraldez said in a statement on Monday. Lyonnes, formerly known as Olympique Lyonnais Feminin, are widely regarded as the most successful women's soccer club in the world and have won a record eight Champions League titles. Under Montemurro, who was appointed coach of the Australian women's national team on Monday, Lyonnes were crowned Premiere Ligue champions for the 18th time in the 2024-25 season and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
NZ hand young talent contracts as big guns remain casual
New Zealand Cricket has handed a quartet of young talents central contracts for the 2025-2026 season as more established players such as Kane Williamson and Devon Conway continue to opt for casual deals. All-rounders Muhammad Abbas and Zak Foulkes, wicketkeeper Mitch Hay and leg-spinner Adithya Ashok were all included for the first time when the 20-strong list of centrally contracted players was released on Tuesday. Abbas, 21, hit 52 of 26 balls on his one-day international debut against Pakistan in March and also took the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan with his left-arm pace. Foulkes, 22, played his first internationals last year, while 24-year-old Hay scored an unbeaten 99 against Pakistan in an ODI in April. The inclusion of 22-year-old Ashok, who made his international debut in 2023, contributed to the absence from the list of more experienced spinners Ish Sodhi and Ajaz Patel. Batting all-rounder Josh Clarkson and former skipper Tim Southee, who has retired, were the other changes from last year's list. "The contracts with Mitch, Muhammad, Adi and Zak reflect the incredible talent coming through our system," NZC chief executive Scott Weenink said in a press release. "These players have shown they can compete at the highest level, and their hunger to represent the Black Caps is exciting. "We're thrilled to see this group drive our team forward." NZC said Williamson, Conway, Finn Allen, Tim Seifert and Lockie Ferguson were all in negotiations over casual contracts, which will enable them to take part in lucrative Twenty20 leagues around the world as well as represent their country. New Zealand next play a T20 tri-series with Zimbabwe and South Africa in Harare in July followed by a two-test series against the hosts. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Andreeva keeps Kasatkina's wristband as reminder of French Open win
PARIS - Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva will hang on to the sweat-soaked wristband that Australia's Daria Kasatkina jokingly threw towards her at the net as a souvenir of their entertaining French Open clash on Monday. The prodigious 18-year-old underlined her credentials as a Roland Garros title contender by outwitting her frequent practice partner and 17th seed Kasatkina 6-3 7-5 to storm into the quarter-finals for a second straight year. Last year's semi-finalist approached the net to shake the hand of the Russian-born Kasatkina after the match and was met with a soggy wristband flying in her direction instead. "She's a great person and a great player. I had a feeling that after the match she's going to do something like this, and I knew that if I would lose I would also do something funny," sixth seed Andreeva told reporters. "When she threw her wristband at me, it was funny. It was a nice gesture from her. "After that, we exchanged kind words, and she told me congratulations. Of course, I said it was a good match. I kept the wristband so it's going to be in my bag for now." Andreeva joked in her on-court interview that she practised with Kasatkina only because she "hated" her and later said that a changed mindset helped her avenge a three-set defeat by the 28-year-old in the Ningbo final last year. "When I first played Dasha, it was much more difficult for me to stay focused and not to be nice on the court," she said. "Compared to the last match, today I knew that she's going to want to beat me on the court. I don't know what changed, but today was not that hard to change my mindset and step on court and be opponents. "I don't know how, but I managed to tell myself that I'm playing against the ball, not against the opponent. I just tried to focus on the ball that I have to hit, and I was able to keep this focus throughout the whole match so I'm proud of myself." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
